We Are The Greatest Generation
by ImGladImNotToneDeaf
Summary: Begins in 1941 - The Hey Arnold gang live in the U.S. during the end of the Great Depression and through WWII. This story deals with their struggle through a world at war while also trying to get through their last year of high school and the years after.
1. Call It Stormy Monday

Hey guys!

I just got the first season of Hey Arnold and have been on a craze for it ever since. Therefore, I present to you my first Hey Arnold story. Woot!

"We Are The Greatest Generation" is about the characters from Hey Arnold living in the 1940's. Our friends are going to be living in the Unites States during the end of the Great Depression and through World War II.

**WARNING**: I want this story to be as historically accurate as possible and unfortunately, our world's history is filled with many injustices. The characters in this story are going to be dealing with discrimination not only in race, but in nationality and religion, as well as dealing with war and death. So please don't leave comments about how I'm awful for including things that actually happened, or could have happened if these characters were somehow real. I am not racist or anti-Semitic. If I could change the past, I would. Also, I will not tolerate racist or anti-Semitic reviews. If you've got something to say about it, take your issues somewhere else. So there..

Serious moment over...anyway, I've also decided to name each of these chapters after a song from the 1940's. They either have similarities to the message or tone of each chapter. You can listen to all of them on youtube.

Chapter 1 is named after "Call It Stormy Monday" by T-Bone Walker. (1947)

Disclaimer: Hey Arnold, the characters, and a few of the lines in this chapter (you'll know which ones when you read them) belong to their respectful owners. I only own the plot and any original characters I come up with.

Positive and encouraging reviews are greatly appreciated...please no flames or bashing.

So here we go you guys...hope you like it.

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Chapter 1: Call It Stormy Monday

Pink was not normally a color that he, nor any boy his age for that matter, took much thought into, let alone dreamt about. Yet, there in his dream, he was surrounded by _pink_ - the least manly color imaginable. Not that he was out to remind everyone of his masculinity every moment of every day, but if he had to choose a color to dream about, he wouldn't have chose pink. He would have chosen blue – now _there's_ a color.

Even amidst his confusion, he seemed fascinated by this strange hue. It seemed warm and safe, but also new and exciting.

He soon became blinded by the pink as if it were a light, but he remained fearless because his previous feelings remained. He could no longer see himself or anything around him, and yet stayed as peaceful as before.

He then felt someone take his hands and brush their thumbs against them. He squint his eyes to try and see the person in front of him, but failed; the pink outshone everything. The person let go of his hands and he suddenly felt alone, but not for long because the person then embraced him.

Feeling a small hourglass body come in contact with his, he concluded that the figure was female. She placed her head on his shoulder and snuggled into the crook of his neck. He could feel her smile against his skin and smiled back, bringing her closer to him.

"Hey, Arnold!" a familiar voice rang in the mist of pink.

The girl tensed within his arms. He could feel her breathing and heart beat take off to fast speeds.

"Arnold!"

She was frightened and immediately broke the embrace, fleeing from his grasp. He tried to find her, but remained blinded.

Suddenly a white light surpassed the pink and he fell to the floor.

"Arnold! Come on Shortman! It's the first day of school!"

Arnold immediately woke to his grandpa, Phil, shaking his shoulder. "Ugh…" He pulled the covers over his head.

"Now, come on, Shortman," Grandpa said cheerfully, "This is the first day of the most important year of your high school career. You need to start it off right. Get dressed and ready. Pookie made a full spread for your big day."

As soon as his grandpa had closed his bedroom door, Arnold pulled the covers off of his body and swung his legs over his bed, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He stood on the wooden floor and stretched, hearing his back pop in all the right places. Moaning in satisfaction, he proceeded to his chest of drawers where he found his usual attire, a white button up shirt and dark trousers with black suspenders. On his way to the kitchen, he grabbed his black fedora with the light blue stripe around the rim from the hook on the wall.

---

"Is that you, Kimba?" Arnold heard his grandma, Gertie, in the kitchen. He chuckled at one of her many nicknames for him.

"Yeah, it's me Quana." He said as he took his place by his grandpa at the table.

His grandma put a plate of bacon and eggs in front of him saying, "You're going to need your strength today. This is the beginning of a new adventure for you, Kimba."

"Thanks Grandma", Arnold immediately dug into his breakfast.

"Whoa, slow down, Shortman," his grandpa tried to block his face from the occasional bit of flying egg, "What's the rush?"

Arnold stopped eating. "I just want to get to school early, Grandpa. Everyone's been working so it's been hard to see everybody over the summer."

Phil nodded and smiled, returning to his paper.

After Arnold was done eating, he rushed upstairs to get his books. Upon opening his door, he noticed a picture on his bedside table and sat down beside it. In the black wooden frame, was a black and white picture of a soldier hugging a nurse, both of them sporting big grins. The man was very tall with blonde hair like Arnold's and brown eyes while the woman was shorter than him with brown hair and green eyes, which Arnold inherited. The youth smiled at the similarity between his and the women's somewhat football shaped heads.

"Today's the first day of school," Arnold clasp his hands together, "I'm kind of nervous."

He looked down at the floor. His parents, Miles and Stella, had been gone for almost three years now. Near the end of 1938, his dad had gotten a letter from a friend, Leopold, that he had fought with in the Great War. In Poland, there was an earthquake that destroyed his small village and he asked Miles and Stella to help him rebuilt it. Miles, being a soldier, and Stella, being a nurse on the battlefront, had had their share of adventure. They had even stayed behind in Europe for a while after the war to work in different reconstruction missions throughout the continent.

They had left a few months after receiving the letter, right before Arnold started his freshman year of high school. Arnold could recall the day they left.

---

_Arnold and his grandparents stood on the front porch with Stella, as Miles loaded their suitcases into the taxi. He tried to fight back the tears as his mother hugged him, "We'll write to you every week," she whispered in his ear, "telling you all the adventures we go on."_

_She looked at him and brushed a lock of blonde hair out of his eyes, "Maybe when we get back, we'll plan our own adventure, ok?"_

_He smiled and nodded. His father approached them and hugged his parents then looked down at Arnold. He took off his fedora, black with a single blue stripe, and placed it on Arnold's head. The boy hadn't grown all the way yet, so the hat sunk over his eyebrows. He looked at his father with a puzzled expression, "Dad? This is your favorite hat."_

"_Well, you're going to be the man of the house while I'm away so you'll need a man's hat." Miles smiled at his son._

_Any tear that Arnold tried to hold back pour from his bright green eyes. He hugged his father's waist and buried his head in his chest. Miles held him close and said "We'll be back before you know it, Son."_

_He gave Arnold a reassuring smile as Stella kissed her son's forehead. "We love you, Arnold." She said sweetly and with that they entered the taxi. They drove away and Arnold squeezed the rim of his hat, knowing that it had been on his father's head just moments ago._

_---_

Three years later, Arnold was still the man of the house. They had kept their promise and wrote to him frequently, telling them of the people they helped and how they were considered heroes in the village. Things were worse than Leopold had told them and so they had to stay longer than they intended.

The last letter Arnold received was around the end of August in 1939. It told about how the villagers were worried about the new German leader and the rumors about him invading Poland. Then a few days later, on September 1, 1939, Arnold heard on the radio that Germany had invaded Poland. Of course, Arnold was frantic and demanded to his grandparents that they go rescue his parents; however, they couldn't afford to go halfway across the world. So, they had to resort to waiting for the next letter.

And today, they still wait, hoping for any sign that they're still alive. Arnold is completely convinced that they're still out there, probably been in and out of Nazi prisons and freeing people from the hands of Adolf Hitler. Somehow he was going to go over there and help them, so they could have could have their own adventure together.

So until they were reunited, Arnold would sometimes talk to his parent's picture, as if they could hear him in Europe. "So I've decided what I'm going to do," Arnold looked up at the picture of his smiling parents, "I'm going to work all this year and next year, and save my money. If you guys are not back by the summer after next, I'm going to Poland and I'm going to find you."

He instantly imagined his mother objecting, "Don't worry; I'm going to college when I get back. I don't know what I'm going to study anyway and this plan will give me more time to decide."

Arnold could see his mother sighing and agreeing, while his father laughed. Whenever they had returned to the States after the Great War, they began saving money for their son's college account and because it was not stored in a bank, it wasn't lost in the Depression. It remained in their room on the top shelf in their closet. His grandparents wouldn't let him use it the first time he wanted to go to Poland, claiming that his parents saved that money for college and college only.

"Anyway," Arnold grabbed his books and his jacket, "I've got to get going. See you after school."

He reached for the doorknob, but turned back around slowly. "I love you."

---

Arnold opened the front door of his grandparent's plantation house. It was white with blue shudders and once belonged to Helmers, who had lost almost all of their money in the Depression. Phil and Gertie, who never trusted banks and didn't lose any money when the Stock Market crashed, had bought it from them at full price, even though the Helmers were trying to sell it for a fourth of that amount. The Shortman's kindness allowed the Helmers to survive the last decade

The Helmer plantation consisted of the big house and a few arches filled with fields, woods and a grove of cherry trees. Normally, the land was beautiful, but today was not the case. Arnold opened the door to find it pouring outside.

"Great." Arnold mumbled and went back inside.

"Forgetting something, Shortman?" His grandpa stood at the kitchen door with an umbrella.

"Thanks, Grandpa." He took the umbrella and hurried out the door.

"Have a good day, Arnold and don't forget to not eat the raspberries!" He called after him.

---

"Thank God it's not windy." Arnold pulled is coat closer to his body as he walked down the street toward his school. It wasn't that far from his house so there was no point in driving there. He saw Hillwood High coming up and starting walking faster.

He reached front steps and was about to climb up when he glanced to the side and noticed a blur of pink within the surrounding grey environment. Once the blur got closer, he realized that it was a girl in a pink dress. She, unlike him, had no umbrella and was soaked. Her blonde hair stuck to her shoulders and neck and she wrapped her arms around herself. She seemed very sad as she looked up at Hillwood High from the bottom of the stairs. The girl didn't seem to notice Arnold standing there.

Being the gentleman that he was, he approached the girl from behind and placed his umbrella over her. She seemed confused at first, wondering why it had suddenly stopped raining on her. Turning around, she noticed Arnold and her eyes grew wide.

Arnold couldn't breathe for a few seconds.

She was beautiful. Her eyes were a sapphire blue and seemed to come to life whenever she saw him. Arnold had never seen her before and concluded that she must be new.

Without thinking, he said, "Hi, nice bow"

She looked up at the pink bow in her hair. "Huh?"

Once again, his mouth took over. "I like your bow because it's pink like your dress."

Arnold internally kicked himself._ "Did I just say that? She probably thinks I'm an idiot! What is wrong with me?"_

The girl gave him a small smile and said, "Thank you."

Because Arnold's umbrella was quite small, they were a lot closer than two people who just met each other normally would be. They suddenly noticed their current closeness and blushed, looking away so the other wouldn't see.

"Um….let's go inside." Arnold suggested.

"Ok" The girl agreed.

They walked together up the stairs, still remaining close so they wouldn't get wet. Once inside, they separated to a more friendly distance, brushing the water off their clothes. The boy extended his hand, "I'm Arnold."

She took his hand. "Helga."

He felt his heart skip a beat. "Are you new?"

"Yes, I just moved here from Boston."

"I see." Arnold noticed that their hands were still together and released her. He rubbed the back of his neck. She smiled at his nervousness.

Suddenly, he heard familiar voices behind him. "Hey,Arnold!"

Looking behind him, he spotted Harold, Stinky, and Sid down the hall. "Come over here, Arnold!" Harold yelled.

"Listen," Helga said, making Arnold turn to face her, "I've got to go to the office to get my schedule. Can you tell me where it is?"

"Sure it's right over there, two doors down." Arnold pointed.

"Thanks, Arnold," she walked away, "I'll see you around, ok?"

"Ok." He smiled, and then thought to himself. "Wait!"

Helga turned around quickly. "Yes?"

"Um…do you want to eat with me and my friends at lunch," He rubbed the back of his neck again, "You know, since you're new and all."

She smiled at him, "I'd love to."

---

Like it? New spin on things right? Haha.

REVIEW =)


	2. Buttons and Bows

Thanks for the reviews guys! I'm really glad you like this story.

One Fire Wire –I'm glad you looked that up; I'll be using that information in this chapter. Also, your review was very encouraging.

SuprSingr – I will try to capture the essence that is Helga. Haha. Helga is a very complex character. I'm not going to make her as "spiteful" as she is in the show, especially towards Arnold, but I'm still making her as independent and tomboyish. Also, she's still not going to take any crap from anyone, as you'll see in this chapter.

acosta perez jose ramiro - Discrimination will be a big issue in this story, so you're totally right about Gerald. I'm not going to give the answer about Phoebe though because I don't want to give the plot away. You'll have to read to find out.

BunniGirl – Your review was very helpful. There are grammar mistakes because I was so excited about putting this up, and I forgot to check for them. Thanks for spotting them though. Also, I had plan on putting the year at the beginning, but again, I was excited. You gave me really good ideas about the fashions and whatnot. In fact, I'm including a lot of their slang in this chapter and I'm putting a "translator" at the end. Also, the Arnold, Gerald, and Phoebe stuff will be revealed later.

Feel free to make anymore suggestions everybody.

Before we get into this chapter, let me explain some important things I forgot to mention last time so there will not be any confusion.

**Time: **This is August of 1941. World War II has already started in Europe, but the United States is not in it because the Japanese have not bombed Pearl Harbor yet. The U.S. is getting out of the Great Depression and, financially, things are good in America. However, this is before the Civil Rights Movement. Everything is still segregated, and discrimination is very common.

**Setting:** Hillwood, North Carolina. (I'm not sure what the actual state is on the show is so I just picked.) This is not the Hillwood we know from the show. Every big city started off as a small town first, so this is Hillwood as a small town before it developed into what it is on the show. It shall be located about thirty minutes from the coast.

Also, BunniGirl asked about their year in high school. I guess I didn't make it clear enough. Sorry. The gang is starting their senior year of high school. ("The most important year of your life.") Don't forget that Arnold's parents left in 1938, right before he started his freshman year, so they weren't out of the majority of his life like on the show.

Ok, I think that's it. Please ask questions if you need to.

Chapter 2 is named after the song "Buttons and Bows" by Dinah Shore

Disclaimer: You know what I don't own.

Enjoy!

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Chapter 2: Buttons and Bows

_August 1941_

Helga left the office a few minutes later, schedule in hand. "Let's see here. First class is English with Simmons."

She put a lock of blonde hair behind her ear and noticed it was still wet. Looking around, she finally spotted a bathroom and entered it. Upon seeing herself in the mirror, Helga could not believe the state of her hair. Her once long and curly locks were now sticking to her neck. She tried her best to dry them with paper towels and when it was as dry as it was going to get, she ran her fingers through her hair. _"I cannot believe that Arnold guy saw me like that!"_

Thinking of Arnold made her heart flutter.

When she left the bathroom, she could hear a deep, threatening voice in the hallway. "Ok, listen here. You do my history homework this year and I won't beat you to a pulp, got it?"

A few lockers down, a boy with greasy blonde hair, had a very small Japanese girl pinned against the lockers. "G..get away from me." The girl tried to sound strong through her stutter.

This kid looked like he should have graduated high school long ago, seeing as his arms were bigger than the girl's entire body. "Your people are causing trouble all over the world. The least you could do is try and make up for it by doing my homework." The boy growled.

No one else was around to help her, so Helga decided to step in.

"Hey, Bub! You got a problem?" Helga approached the boy.

"Who's asking?" He looked around for someone taller. He wasn't too bright.

Helga put her hands on her hips. "I am."

He looked down at Helga and sneered. "Who are you?"

"The girl who's going to beat the living snot out of you if you don't leave that girl alone." Her tone became more dominate as she added a scowl.

"I'd like to see you try." He added a scowl of his own. "Now if you excuse me, me and Miss Tiny Eyes here have business to take care of, so you should go play with your dolls and…"

He didn't get to finish his sentence because Helga sunk to the ground, swung her leg and tripped the boy, causing him to land on his stomach. She then put her foot on his back, took his hands, and pulled. The boy screamed in pain. "Say uncle!" Helga ordered.

"Uncle! Uncle!" He yelled back.

She let him go and he scrambled on the floor before breaking into a run away from her. Helga yelled after him, "You better not bully anyone else, got it?"

Helga crossed her arms in satisfaction. She then noticed the small girl still on the ground, looking at her wide eyed.

"You ok?" Helga extended a hand to her.

The girl looked at it, as if unsure of how to respond. Her eyes, filled with confusion, were partially hidden behind soft black curls.

"It's ok. I'm not going to bite you." Helga joked.

The girl laughed before finally taking her hand. "Thank you very much," She said, "Wolfgang thinks that he can push everyone around because he's older and stronger."

"Ah, you don't have to worry about him anymore. I've got your back. What's your name anyway?" Helga asked.

"Phoebe Heyerdahl."

"Pleased to meet you. I'm Helga Pataki."

"Nice to meet you too, Helga." Phoebe smiled.

Her smile was contagious. "So, Phebes, where are you heading to?"

"English with Simmons." She responded as she smoothed the wrinkles out of her light blue dress.

"Well, we'd better get there before all the good seats are taken."

---

"So Arnold," Sid leaned against his locker, twiddling his thumbs, "I was talking to Coach Wittenberg and he wants to start practicing this week for the season."

"That's weird," Arnold put his umbrella and coat in his locker, "He doesn't usually start basketball practice until the end of September."

Stinky chuckled. "He's doing this on account of him thinking that because you're team captain and the senior class is pretty swell, we're going to win State Championship this year.

"Which we are going to do." Sid smoothed his black hair with both hands.

"Right after the football team does." Harold sported a big grin.

"Yeah, if you can find more boys for your offensive line," Stinky retaliated, "A bunch of them graduated last year, right?"

"Yep," Harold scratched his bald head, "We're holding tryouts this afternoon."

"In the rain?" Sid piped up.

"Yeah." Harold continued as the boys headed to class.

---

Helga and Phoebe entered Mr. Simmons class and found a group of girls in the back corner talking about whatever they found appropriate at the time. They waved at Phoebe and called her name, so Helga assumed they were friends. "Hi girls!" Phoebe smiled widely. "This is Helga Pataki. She just moved here."

The group consisted of four other girls. They all accepted Helga immediately and began conversing with her about this and that. The first girl was named Rhonda, and Helga assumed that she was the leader because of the way the other three where listening to her rant. Her hair was a beautiful raven black, shorter than Helga's and curly. She had it pinned behind her ears to allow her facial features to be more apparent. A pearl necklace hung around her neck, cascading over a deep red sweater. Touching the end of the sweater was a black, knee-high skirt.

"Oh, I forgot to show you girls! Look at my new nylon stockings." Rhonda showed her nylon covered legs.

Helga could read Rhonda easily. She enjoyed the finer things in life, but from the way she didn't rub her stockings in her friends' faces, Helga concluded that she wasn't stuck up. She seemed very dedicated to her friends.

"Those are lovely, Rhonda!" A much taller girl, Sheena, exclaimed. Sheena was much quieter than Rhonda, but nice just the same. Her light brown hair was pulled back into a bun. She wore a yellowish-green dress covered in pink flowers.

The third girl nodded enthusiastically and Helga vaguely remembered Rhonda calling her Lila. Her red hair was styled in ringlet curls, top with a green headband to keep her hair out of her freckle covered face. She wore a simple green dress with plaid, poof sleeves.

Patty was the name of the fourth girl who rolled her eyes and smiled as Rhonda went on about her stockings. Her hair was brown and straight with cures at the bottom, reaching to her chin in length. She rolled up the sleeves of her blue sweater which, at the bottom, touched a darker blue skirt. "So…" she interjected, causing Rhonda to stop her chattering, "Does anyone know when the boys will get here?"

"No, Patty. You'll just have to wait for Harold like anyone else with a boyfriend would have to." Rhonda teased as Patty blushed.

Helga sat in the desk behind Patty and beside Phoebe; the desk to her right remained empty. Her nervousness about finding friends at a new school melted away when Phoebe introduced her to the girls. She amazed at the group because they were all so different, and yet they found something in common that banded them together. Helga felt like she belonged in this group because she too as very different, far more different than they could imagine.

"Hey girls!" A boy with a shaved head, wearing a letterman jacket entered with a group of other boys. He approached Patty, kissed her forehead and asked, "How's my girl today?"

Patty smiled. "I'm great Harold." The boy took a seat beside her.

Helga was still engrossed in the girls' conversation, until a voice behind her spoke, "Hello, Helga."

She turned around to find Arnold, the boy from earlier, smiling at her. "Is this seat taken?" He gestured the empty one beside her and behind Harold.

"It is now." She smiled as he took the seat.

Arnold leaned against the arm rest of the desk, facing Helga. The girl couldn't help but notice the way his white shirt clung to his body nicely. The sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, showing his thin, yet toned arms. The top button was left opened, revealing more of the blonde's neckline.

He chuckled and at first Helga thought he was laughing at her observing him. Arnold said, "It's seems you've made friends easily here."

He gestured towards Rhonda, who had moved on to a different topic. "Good luck getting two words in with her."

Helga laughed, "I'm sure I'll find a way."

By this time, their teacher, Mr. Simmons, had entered the room and greeted everyone cheerfully, "Good morning class and welcome to your senior year of high school!"

Robert Simmons was a younger man who, for one reason or another, started losing his hair at an early age; a bald space on his head shined between two blonde patches. He stood in front of his desk and sat upon it, swinging his legs as he said, "Folks, this is going to be one of the most special years of your life."

At the moment, no one in that room knew exactly how "special" that year was going to be.

---

"Tell me, Arnold. Are you carrying a torch for that blonde broad?"

Harold and Arnold sat at a big round table in the back of the cafeteria. Unlike the rest of their friends, they had brought bag lunches and didn't have to wait in the lunch line.

"No," Arnold was caught off guard by his friend's question, "No…I mean I just met her Harold. I don't even know her."

"Ah, but you will my friend," Harold teased, "I saw those puppy dog eyes you were giving her in English."

"Wise guy." Arnold mumbled.

---

Helga and Phoebe were the last ones to the lunch table. All the girls, Harold, Arnold and a two other boys were involved in a mixture of talking and eating. One of the boys was very tall, with a buzz cut, and wore a green collared shirt. He spoke with a deep Southern accent. The other was much shorter with short black hair that was slicked back behind his ears. He wore a green buttoned shirt with a black tie and vest. She recalled Arnold naming them in class as Stinky and Sid respectfully.

The girls sat in the last two available seats. Once Helga was seated, Rhonda asked her, "So tell me about Boston. Daddy goes there sometimes for business, but I've never been."

"Well," Helga began, "It's bigger than Hillwood."

"I assumed that, but how's the shopping!" Rhonda squealed.

"Good, I guess. Shopping is shopping." Helga answered nonchalantly.

"So tell us about yourself, Helga." Sheena suggested, as Rhonda sighed in her chair, realizing she won't receive Boston's shopping status from Helga.

Arnold perked up at Sheena's sentence, getting himself ready to take mental notes.

Helga thought for a minute. "Well, I'm in the youngest child in my family, my favorite color is pink, and I can throw a pretty good curve ball."

Harold choked on his milk, coughing loudly so the rest of the cafeteria turned and looked at him. Once he could breathe again, he asked, "You play baseball?"

Helga simply answered. "Yes."

The bald boy looked confused. "But you're a girl."

"I was the last time I checked," Helga looked down at her body, "Yeah, I still am."

Arnold, along with everyone else at the table, laughed.

Harold was still confused, his cheeks getting pink. "Girls around here don't play baseball. They tend to sit and watch."

"Well, Pink Boy, I'm not the "sit and watch" type of girl." She used finger quotations while speaking.

"Ok then," Harold held his head up, "Show us what you got, Friday after school. I would say sooner, but we've got football practice this week."

"I can't wait." Helga flashed Arnold a brilliant smile as the gang continued eating and conversing. Arnold engaged in small talk with Helga, and Harold looked over at them and smiled, placing his arm around Patty.

---

All the members of the group were in their next class together. It was World History and was held in the same room as Simmons's English class, so everyone stayed in their seats from before.

"So do you hit home runs?" Arnold continued to talk to Helga about baseball.

The blonde girl laughed. "Who doesn't? I usually hit about three on average per game and at least one if it's a bad day."

Arnold nodded in fascination. Helga Pataki was completely different from any of the other girls in his school. She had the outer appearance of a regular girl, but she was far more outgoing than even Rhonda. He found the way she handled Harold, including her sarcasms, to be very intriguing. No other girl would stand up for herself like she had.

Also, she talked about other things besides the typical girl stuff. Most of the time he talked to girls for an extended amount of time, they usually press on about the most recent addition to their shoe collection and he was left to carry on without much input. Arnold found in Helga, though, that she was interested in things that he is concerned with, like baseball for instance, and he could actually make the conversation two sided.

"So what sports do you play, Arnold?" Helga asked, bringing Arnold out of his thoughts.

"Well," he took off his fedora and ran his fingers through his cornflower hair, "I play basketball in the fall and baseball in the spring."

"No football to add to your list?" Helga teased.

"No, I want to keep all of my teeth." Arnold smiled, as the teacher walked in.

"Hello class," said Mrs. Slovak, a woman with graying hair and a warm smile, "Welcome to World History. I recognize most of you from last year in American History, but I see one new face. Miss, would you please stand and introduce yourself?"

Mrs. Slovak gestured towards Helga and the blonde stood.

"I'm Helga Pataki and I just moved here." Helga said sarcastically because everyone in there already knew her.

Giggles could be heard around the room as Mrs. Slovak asked, "Helga? That's an interesting name. It's German right?"

Arnold saw Harold's body tense in front of him.

The room was completely silent as Helga answered, "Um…yes."

Harold turned around facing Helga as Mrs. Slovak continued questioning her in fascination. "Do you come from a German family?"

Arnold felt his breathing shorten. The blonde girl shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other and answered, "Yes, my parents are German."

Arnold's heart fell just as Helga sunk into her seat. Harold gave the blonde girl a death glare before Mrs. Slovak starting lecturing.

---

Oh no!!

Sorry if you got a little bored with this chapter. I needed a character introduction character before the drama starts.

Translator:

Swell – Wonderful, great, good, etc

Carry a torch – Have a crush on someone

Wise guy – Smart ass

REVIEW!


	3. Let's Get Away From It All

Sorry this took so long guys. I've been distracted lately. I'll try not to do this again. =)

**SuprSingr **– I'm glad I made you happy. That's what I'm here for. ;) By the way, Helga's my favorite character too.

**NintendoGal55** - I know that the Pataki name is a Hungarian, but because I found the nationality of Helga's name, I decided for the sake of plot to make Pataki German too. It adds more drama to the story, as you've seen and will see more of later. I'm glad you like the story.

**One Fine Wire** – I love your questions. They give me ideas. Haha. Actually, I wasn't originally going to do much more with Wolfgang, but after you mention his name origin, I think I'll put him in more. Also, don't worry about your grammar corrections. It's totally cool. I constantly need reminders about that stuff. It's like having an extra English teacher with me. =)

**acosta perez jose ramiro** – Yes, and she'll continue to have problems for a while.

**BunniGirl** – It's weird, but ever since I've started this story, most of my classes have been directed to this time period in some way. Rock Music, Research, Psychology, and Woman's History have touched on this period in different aspects. I actually found a really cool subplot for Helga in my Women's History book that I'm really excited about. Oh and you don't sound bossy at all. I love your suggestions and I love history.

**Pyrex Shards** – I'm really glad you like this story. Don't worry your questions will be answered in time.

Keep the reviews coming! I enjoy them.

Chapter 3 is named after the song "Let's Get Away From It All" by Frank Sinatra (1941)

Disclaimer: We've discussed this.

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Chapter 3: Let's Get Away From It All

_August 1941_

After class that day, Arnold sat on the steps in front of the school, lost in his own thoughts.

"_Helga is German? But she's so…she doesn't act like…them"_, the blonde signed in frustration, _"Is she a Nazi?"_

He took off his fedora and gazed at it hard for the first time in a while, _"Those monsters took my parents away from me."_

A tear fell from a pair of green eyes and met the rim of the hat below them.

His thoughts were interrupted by a familiar whisper, "Arnold!"

Looking to the right, he spotted Rhonda peering behind the corner wall of the school, gesturing him over. Arnold placed his hat back on his head and jogged towards her. When he reached his destination, she asked, "Are you ready?"

"Yes", he said quickly, glancing at the forest behind their high school.

Rhonda and Arnold looked around to see if anyone was watching, and when they saw that they were alone, they snuck swiftly into the woods.

The two walked together on the familiar path, surrounded by trees for miles. Rhonda led, pushing away branch after branch and trying not to waste any time. They hiked through the woods for around twenty minutes in near silence. Arnold was still lost in his previous thoughts and didn't know they had reached their destination until Rhonda stopped and he collided into her. She stumbled, but didn't fall, whispering sarcastically, "Watch it, Arnold. You're going to wake the whole forest."

"Of course," He chuckled.

Arnold then cupped his hands to his mouth and made an owl call. It echoed through the trees and the disappeared. The two waited in silence.

A few seconds later, another similar owl call reached their ears and they smiled, walking towards its source. After a few more paces, they entered a clearer patch of the woods. It included a large oat tree, supporting a rather crudely made tree house and a tire swing. To get to the tree, one must cross a creek via wooden manmade bridge.

Once Arnold and Rhonda crossed the bridge, they looked around for any signs of life.

Suddenly, Rhonda screamed. Arnold turned around to find another girl had snuck up behind her and scared her. The two girls now hugged and laughed. Rhonda squealed, "Nadine! I haven't seen you all summer!"

"I know! I've missed my best friend!" The dark girl released Rhonda and smiled brightly while pulling her blonde hair out of her face.

"Hey, Arnold!" a familiar voice yelled.

Arnold looked in the tree house and found his best friend, Gerald, sitting on the balcony, feet swinging in the air. The blonde boy quickly climbed the tree, pulled a rope which opened the hatch door, and hoisted himself into the tree house. He found Gerald standing when he reached him and met the dark boy at the ledge.

"Arnold, man it's been a while." Gerald said ecstatically.

"I know," Arnold retaliated when they did their signature handshake, which involved wiggling their thumbs when their hands met.

"Seriously, Arnold, we need to stop working so much," Gerald moved backed to his original position of having his legs over the balcony.

"Yeah," the blonde answered and rubbed the wood of the floor, "I miss our carefree days in this old tree."

"Don't we all, man."

The boys looked down to see the girls still engrossed in conversation. The words "nylon" and "stockings" rose to their eyes, and Arnold laid on his back, groaning, "She never stops going on about those stockings."

Gerald shook his head, "Was she like that all day?"

"Oh yes," Arnold closed his eyes.

Gerald looked back at his best friend and noticed stress hardening his usually soft features.

"Is something bugging you, man?" He asked.

Arnold rubbed his eyes, "You can read me like a book, Gerald."

He sat up again and said, "There's this new girl at school."

Gerald interrupted, "Is she pretty?"

The blonde gave his friend a weird look, but looked down slowly and smiled, "Yes."

"Arnold, Arnold." The dark boy lay on his side and questioned, "You like this girl?"

"I don't know. I just met her," Arnold shrugged and blushed slightly, "Maybe."

Gerald chuckled.

Arnold fidgeted, "I don't think we're right for each other though."

"Why?"

"She's…um," Arnold rubbed the back of his neck, "Well, she's German."

"Oh, man," Gerald shook his head; He knew about Arnold's parents, "Is she from Germany?"

"No, her parents are, but Gerald she's so...wonderful. How could she be associated with monsters?"

"Arnold, has she done anything to hurt anybody? Does she act like a Nazi?"

Arnold took off his hat and looked at it, feeling the material under his fingers, "No."

Gerald looked away from his friend and down at the two girls had moved their conversation away from nylon stockings. "No one can control what family they are born into, Arnold. You know that."

Arnold didn't answer.

The dark boy lowered his brow, "You also know from experience that people are not as bad as society makes them out to be."

The blonde met the eyes of his best friend, knowing exactly what he was talking about.

---

_Six years earlier – Seventh grade_

_Arnold and Rhonda were walking home, hand in hand, from the annual Cheese Festival. They had been together for a week now and this was their first date. That night had been a pleasant one and Arnold felt that Rhonda had enjoyed herself, seeing as she continued discussing the night's events with a giant brown bear under her free arm._

_The blonde boy listened to his girlfriend initiatively and neither person noticed the couple approaching them, immersed in their own conversation. _

_The four collided and fell on the concrete path. Rhonda shrieked and Arnold opened his eyes to find her scooting away from the strangers. He turned toward the newcomers and found a young couple, similar to them in age. There was one main difference though._

_They were black._

_Like Rhonda and Arnold, they remained on the ground, the boy leaning in front of the girl as if to protect her from Arnold. He glared at him with hatred and yet, the blonde boy could see fear in his dark eyes. The girl looked at both Arnold and Rhonda in obvious fear._

_An awkward silence surrounded the four. Arnold picked himself up, "Sorry about that. We weren't paying attention."_

_The blonde stood and extended his hand to the dark boy, "Here let me help you up."_

_Rhonda tugged at his arm, "Arnold? What are you doing?"_

"_Yeah, what ARE you doing?" the dark boy asked bitterly._

_Arnold still had his hand out, "My father always told me that all life is sacred, and that includes yours."_

_The dark boy stared at the blonde, unblinking, trying to find a deceitful gleam in his green eyes. None could be found. _

_The four were silent for what seemed like hours, until the dark boy said, "Your father is a wise man."_

_He flashed Arnold a brilliant smile and took his hand. After picking up his girlfriend from the sidewalk, he began conversing with Arnold. _

_The two girls stood by each other in silence, their arms crossed. Rhonda looked over at the other girl and noticed something shining on her wrist. Her fashion instincts took over._

"_Oh wow! That bracelet is so cute! Where did you get it?" Rhonda asked ecstatically._

_The dark girl was startled at first, "Oh! Well, I made it._

"_You have to show me how!" Rhonda smiled._

_The other girl smiled in return, "Okay."_

**---**

Though the two relationships didn't last, the friendships remained.

The boys had found common ground in sports, Arnold finding out that Gerald played basketball. The girls chatted aimlessly about fashion; although, Rhonda soon discovered Nadine's main interest: insects. Disgusted at first, Rhonda began to discover the beauty in ladybugs and butterflies.

Arnold and Rhonda had found in Gerald and Nadine the friends that they had always wanted. Sure, they had great friends at school, but the best friends who saw them as more than a star athlete and a fashion icon were the ones they bumped into on the street that night. They understood each other, were there for each other and wouldn't let society separate them.

But like in everything, there were people who didn't understand , and in this situation, the number of ignorant people was great.

They had tried to spend time with each other in public, but after hearing whispers and snares from both sides of the spectrum, they decided that society wasn't ready to accept them yet.

So they settled for meeting in the woods that separated the main part of town from the black community. In this safe haven, they found the old tree with tire swing and the tree house already built inside.

They met every Monday after school and sometimes other days if Arnold or Gerald's sport practices fell on those days. They told no one of their meetings.

Six years, their tradition was still alive.

---

Arnold looked to his best friend. His words still echoing in his mind minutes after he said them.

"_You also know from experience that people are not as bad as society makes them out to be."_

Society had told Arnold that people like Gerald and Nadine were the scum of the earth and, yet he found that they were further from the truth.

Is society wrong about Helga too?

He remembered when he saw her this morning under his umbrella, her sapphire eyes beaming at him.

"_There's no way she's a monster"_, he thought to himself.

He smiled at his best friend, who smiled back in understanding as the girls giggled below the branches of Mighty Pete.

---

There you go guys.

The next chapter will be up much sooner than this. Again, sorry for the wait.

Also, for you Helga fans. She'll be the main focus of the next chapter.

REVIEW!


	4. I'll Get By

I love my reviewers! They make my life so much happier. =D

Side Note: I'm so sorry it took this long to update guys (SuprSingr – Please don't hunt me…I don't want to be prey lol) Not meaning to throw excuses around or anything, but my classes this semester have really worn me down with work (I'm taking seven college classes)…plus there are so many personal things going on in my life that I won't get into. I can't guarantee that I'm going to update as soon as I want, but this story will be updated and finished. So don't worry about that. Just be patient and bear with me.

Also, tonight is the first night of spring break, so more updates!

Ok…so I'm a bit stuck on plot right now. I know what I want to happen next in the story, but I'm still working on how to get there.

This chapter was meant to be a long one, but because I made you guys wait so long, I'm splitting it into two parts so you guys can read this while I finish part two.

Also, you guys had questions about Nadine's ethnicity. I don't think it was ever stated, but during the episode where the kids had a contest on teams with their parents (the one where Bob calls Arnold an orphan…maybe called "Parent's Day"?)…they showed many of the kids beside their parents. Nadine was shown in front of a hippie looking white guy with blonde hair like Nadine's and a black woman. So, I assume that they are her parents; it would make sense.

Please don't hate me guys. Keep the reviews coming!

Chapter 4 is named after "I'll Get By (As Long As I Have You)" by The Ink Spots (1944)

Disclaimer: You know.

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Chapter 4: I'll Get By

_August 1941_

"Olga! Olga!" Helga awoke to hear her father yelling from the other room in German, "Get up for school!"

"Ugh..." The blonde rubbed her temples in an effort to sooth the headache that the screaming man wasn't making better.

She quickly dressed and fixed her hair in curls the way she liked it before grabbing her books and leaving her room.

Helga found her father, Bob Pataki, in the kitchen reading the newspaper and spreading jam on his freshly made toast. He was a big man with large arms and graying hair that still held a few strands of blonde intact. His original German name was Günter, but after coming to America and realizing that the "uncultured swine" of the country could never pronounce his name right, he picked the first English name he saw.

The blonde girl walked into the kitchen, grabbed an apple, and tried to leave before Bob noticed her.

"Olga!" His words in German boomed through the kitchen, "Where are you going?"

"It's Helga, Dad, and I'm going to school." Helga responded to him in English.

Bob continued to speak in his native tongue, "You know that in this house you will speak to your mother and I in _our_ language."

"But, Dad, we're not in…"

He silenced her by raising his hand, "It is the language of our ancestors and of the fatherland."

"Fine," Helga huffed in German, "Now can I go to school?"

"No," he replied impatiently, "You must first say the pledge."

"But, Dad…"

"Not another word!" Bob's neck turned a little red, "You will honor the fatherland and the Führer by giving your pledge just like any other young German woman would."

The man stood and walked to the living room with a disgruntled Helga in tow. He stopped in front of a small picture on the mantle of a man with a scowled expression and a square mustache.

Standing with his heels together and waiting for his daughter to the same, he said to her as if she'd never done this before, "Repeat after me."

Helga stood stiff by her father, fists clinched until her knuckles were white. She never got used to this routine of giving support to a despicable man and a country that she had no bonds to.

"One people!" Bob put his hand on his heart.

"One people." Helga repeated unenthusiastically, rolling her eyes.

Her father quickly turned towards her and grabbed her wrist, making Helga wince. "I will not have you making a mockery of everything we stand for! You should be proud to be German and to be of the Aryan race! You are stronger! You are better than all others! Do you understand that?!"

Helga's fingers were turning purple and she nodded quickly so her father would let go.

He scowled at her and yelled, "Now repeat! One people!"

Helga repeated with the same volume and tone as Bob.

"One Reich!"

Again, she repeated.

"One Führer!"

The blonde girl repeated a third time.

The father than did the part of the ritual that Helga hated the most. He clicked his heels together, took his hand from his heart and shot it into the air, screaming louder than anything else, "Hail Hitler!"

Helga hesitated at first, but then looked at her hand that was slowly returning to normal color. Then with tears stinging her eyes, she followed her father, "Hail Hitler!"

---

Whenever Helga reached the steps of the school, she stopped to sit down and catch her breath. After completing the "morning ritual" with her father, she had rushed out of the house quickly in case he wanted her to go through it again with reasoning that she didn't say it "proudly" enough, which he had done before.

She looked up at the moment to see Harold, Sid, and Stinky walking past her. At first she had expected a smile or a friendly acknowledge, but instead she was greeted by three sets of furious stares.

"_Great, it's Boston all over again,"_ She thought to herself, _"Thanks Mrs. Slovak."_

"Hi, Helga," said a voice beside her.

The blonde looked to her right to find Phoebe, smiling brightly at her. She asked, "How was your morning?"

"Same as it usually is," Helga answered casually, placing her other hand over her wrist where Bob's finger prints could still be seen on her red skin, "No offense, but why are you talking to me? No one else is."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, no one wants to talk to the big bad Nazi…" Helga held up her hands like claws.

"I don't think you're a Nazi, Helga," Phoebe said honestly, "and neither do the other girls."

"Really?" Helga asked, sounding surprised.

"Trust me. We are excellent judges of character." Phoebe answered with a giggle.

"Did you see the looks the boys were giving me, though?" Helga gestured to where the boys had gone.

The dark haired girl gave the blonde a sad smile, "Boys are ignorant in general. They'll come around."

Helga pulled her knees up to her chest. "I guess, but it's not fair! They don't even know me."

"I think Harold felt a little threatened by you, and of course Sid and Stinky followed suit." Phoebe looked away.

"Why would he feel threatened?"

Phoebe shifted uncomfortably, "Well…Harold is Jewish."

"Perfect." Helga put her head in her hands, and then looked at the other girl through her fingers, "I am not a monster, Pheebs."

Phoebe put a hand on her shoulder, "I know you're not, Helga, and soon Harold and the boys will see that too."

Helga was so thankful for Phoebe at that moment.

---

"Hey, Pheebs! Go on ahead and save my seat. I've got to get my book out of my locker." Helga said as she reached her assigned metal door.

Phoebe winked, "Saving."

As soon as Helga retrieved her book and closed her locker door, her body was forcefully pushed against the metal wall by a large hand. She turned around to see Harold walking past her, chuckling to himself. The blonde immediately knew he had pushed her.

She called after him, "You do know that a gentleman never pushes a lady!"

He turned around and said with a snarl, "You're no lady."

Helga wanted to beat him to a pulp, but Phoebe's words echoed in her mind. She decided to give him a little more time to get over his insecurities. When he left her sight, she released her long-held breathe and allowed Old Betsey and The Five Avengers to rest peacefully at her sides.

---

When Helga got to English, the girls greeted her enthusiastically and conversed with her like yesterday. She was surprised that Patty was talking to her, considering that she was Harold's girlfriend, but she agreed with Phoebe and the other girls about the boys' ignorance. Much of Helga's stress and worry about the day was lifted at the moment. Even if the boys were unnecessarily rude to her, she at least had the girls to stick by her. Whenever the class started, Helga noticed something was missing.

Arnold wasn't there.

Helga felt that the room seemed colder than it had been the previous day and on the few occasions that Harold turned around to glare at her, the blonde felt very exposed and unprotected.

English could not have gone any slower.

Lunch was not as awkward as Helga had envisioned it. The other girls had planned ahead and claimed the lunch spot before the boys entered the cafeteria, causing the males to relocate. During the period, Rhonda put an arm around Helga and said, "Don't worry girl, we'll take care of you."

---

The rest of the day seemed to pass in the same slow fashion. Helga was too busy watching the clock to pay attention to anything her teachers were saying.

The clock said 2:45, the final bell rang, and Helga rushed out the door, toward the main entrance. She opened the big double doors, allowing the fresh sunshine to soak into her skin. Her mood instantly lightened upon seeing the fresh green nature outside the walls of the educational institution.

"What's that smell, Fellers? It smells like ash out here," someone with a deep Southern accent said behind her, "Oh, it's probably that Nazi girl over there."

Harold followed to where Stinky pointed and glared at Helga, "Yeah she should be used to the smell of ash by now…that and burning flesh."

Helga's fists clenched harder than they ever had, but she used her better judgment and walked away from the boys; however, they caught up to her.

They spoke around her in German-sounding gibberish while walking in a line with their legs completely straight. She didn't get but to the bottom of the steps when Harold, Sid and Stinky blocked her from leaving. They put their left hands against their chests and shot them up to the sky, screaming quite loudly, "Hail Hitler!" Their rendition was very similar to that of her father's.

Helga's face turned red in embarrassment as more students exited the school and stopped to view the show occurring at the base of the stairs. The blonde girl tried to get around the boys again, but they still wouldn't let her pass.

Harold then put his finger under his nose, forming an imaginary mustache. Stinky put Sid's hands behind the smaller boy's back, as if he were under arrest, and presented him to Harold.

"My Lord, this man is a traitor to you and our nation." Stinky tried his best to speak in a German accent, but his Southern accent drowned his attempts.

"What did he do?" Harold gave Sid a smug look.

"He didn't say your name proudly enough."

Harold narrowed his eyes and said, "Finish him."

Sid pretended to beg at the feet of Stinky and Harold. The tallest boy pulled an invisible gun out of an imaginary holster and shot Sid. The shortest boy dramatically rolled around on the ground, holding his chest before finally resting with his tongue hanging out of his mouth. Harold then turned to Helga.

He pointed to her and ordered, "Bow to your leader!"

Helga was mortified, "What?"

Stinky aimed his imaginary gun at her and yelled, "You heard him! Bow!"

The girl tried to back away, but the gathering students had created a wall behind her.

She had nowhere to go.

"_Sorry, Pheebs," _Helga thought as a few tears gathered in her eyes,_ "No one treats Helga G. Pataki like this."_

She cracked her knuckles and gave Harold a challenging snarl. Her right fist quickly met his jaw and she heard it pop in a few places. He turned to look at her in shock and rubbed his chin.

Before Helga could defend herself, Harold grabbed her wrist, the one that was still sore from the previous morning, and held it tightly. Helga eyes widened and Harold whispered, "Don't try to fight me. Everyone knows that in a fight between a man and a dog that the man always wins."

Filled with anger and fear that she had tried to repress, Helga released it all and fell to the floor. Tears met the ground below her and pain still existed in Helga because Harold had not yet let go of her wrist.

"Let her go, Harold." A bold voice reached Helga's ears.

A tall figure with blonde locks emerged from the crowd and got nose to nose with Harold. "Let her go," he said through gritted teeth.

"No, I'm not going to, Arnold," Harold stated plainly, "and you trying to act tough is not going to change my mind."

Arnold spoke low enough for only him, the bald boy, and the girl still on the floor to hear, "She hasn't done anything to you, Harold."

"Don't defend her, Arnold. She's a Nazi! A filthy Nazi!" Harold's face grew redder and redder, as did his grip on Helga's wrist.

"No, she's not. You're letting your negative feelings toward Germans block your better judgement and now you're hurting a girl you don't even know."

"I know that she's German and when given the chance, she'll strike and kill us all, me and the other Jews first!"

"Harold..."

"She's got you wrapped around her little fingers, Arnold, and now you can't see her for who she really is."

Helga could see Arnold's eyes narrow with his brows lying close to them. His breaths became deeper as if he was trying to calm himself down, "Harold…"

"She's a monster!"

Harold's fingers were instantly released from Helga's wrist, and she looked behind her to see the large boy on the ground, holding his face in his hands. Arnold kneeled at her side and whispered, "Are you alright?"

Helga felt like she couldn't speak, so she nodded.

"Come on, let me take you home." He said as he helped her up.

Arnold walked very close to Helga as they past Harold, who sported a giant red mark on his cheek and was being helped off the ground by Sid and Stinky. They didn't turn around when a voice reached their ears, "You're a traitor, Arnold! You're a traitor to me and a traitor to this country!"

---

REVIEW!!


	5. As Long As I Have You

You guys are awesome readers! I give you a million cool points…each.

Oh and if anyone is interested in knowing, I'm taking a World at War history class that focuses on Hitler, Nazism, the Holocaust, etc next semester. If this story is as long as I expect it to be, I'll still be writing it at that time, so I'll be learning even more about this time period. I heard that the teacher is really passionate about that class so it should be awesome.

Thank you kindly for the reviews!

Here is part two of my originally freakishly long chapter.

Chapter 5, like the previous one, is named after "I'll Get By (As Long As I Have You)" by The Ink Spots (1944)

Disclaimer: You know….we all know.

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Chapter 5: As Long As I Have You

_August 1941_

Arnold and Helga walked in silence for the longest time, until Arnold stopped in front of the drug store on Main Street. He asked Helga to wait outside and came back with two Cokes. They sat and drank on the railroad tracks beside the store.

Helga finished hers quickly and sat it down beside her, taking deep breaths to slow down her fast paced heart. She was not only shaken up from today's events, but also slightly embarrassed that she could handle herself against Harold. In Boston, Helga could defend herself from anyone, even boys twice her size, and everyone knew that. Today, however, something had changed. The people here didn't grow up to view her as a tough woman who could make her own in this world, but as a fragile girl who looked like she could break easily. Physically, Helga was stronger than ever, but emotionally, perhaps that wasn't the case.

Arnold noticed her fidgeting and asked, "Are you alright?"

Helga snapped out of her thoughts and rubbed her forehead, "Yes, I'm fine, but now if you'll excuse me, I must be getting home. Thank you for everything, Arnold, and I will see you tomorrow"

She started to leave when the blonde boy offered, "Would you like me to walk you home?"

"It's quite alright. I'm fully capable of walking myself home. You've done enough for me today and I don't like being in debt to anyone." She said as she continued to walk home.

Arnold stepped in her path, "You wouldn't owe me anything. I want to walk you home…so I know you get there safely."

"Arnold, you don't have to look out for me. I can take care of myself." Helga pushed past him.

He crossed his arms, "Okay, but Harold's really mad and I wanted to make sure he didn't corner you again."

Helga didn't stop, "…And if he does, I can handle him."

"You didn't last time," the boy mumbled.

The girl stopped, "What?"

Arnold shrugged, "I'm just saying you didn't handle yourself very well last time and in your condition, I don't think you'd do much better."

Helga stormed up to the boy and leaned her head up to meet him nose to nose, "My condition? Am I sick? Are you a doctor?"

The boy didn't flinch, "No, I'm just saying you appear pretty shook up about the whole deal."

"Listen here, Bucko," Helga snarled, "I don't need you to tell me what I 'appear' to be!"

"Fine," Arnold uncrossed his arms, "I was just trying to help."

"Well, I don't need nor want your help. I don't need anybody's help. I'm not some damsel in distress and you are not the knight who's going to save me!" The girl turned on her heels and stomped away.

Arnold wasn't about to give up though.

Helga wasn't a few feet away from the Main Street when Arnold appeared at her side, walking at her pace. "Arnold," she said impatiently, "Don't walk me home."

"I'm not walking you home," he replied cheerfully, "I'm just taking a stroll in the same general direction as you are."

Helga sighed and rolled her eyes, but turned her head to hide her smile from his sight.

They walked for sometime in silence, but after a while, Helga couldn't stand the lack of sound anymore.

"Why weren't you at school?" She asked, careful to say it nonchalantly and with not as much concern as she was feeling.

Arnold chuckled, "I was at school. Didn't you see me?"

Helga rolled her eyes, "You know what I mean. Why weren't you in class?"

"Don't worry, I wasn't skipping," he said, "A water pipe broke at home and Grandpa needed help fixing it. None of the borders were home so it took longer to fix than normal."

"Boarders?"

"Yeah, we have extra rooms in our house, so my grandparents rented the rooms out for extra money."

Helga curiosity about the boy's home life increased, "How many boarders live at your house?"

"Quite a few," Arnold laughed lightly, "It can get a bit crowded sometimes, but you get used to it. We're like a big family."

Helga smiled in spite of herself.

"So, how long have you been in town?" Arnold asked.

"A few days."

"Have you seen much of it?"

"No not that much."

Arnold nodded. His eyes then glanced around the scenery as if he were trying to find something. Helga wasn't entirely sure what he was looking for. His green orbs met an opening in the woods a few miles down. Arnold asked, "Would you like a tour?"

Helga looked at the sky. The sun wasn't setting just yet, but it was getting close to it. "You won't have enough time to show me the whole thing. It's going to be dark soon."

"We'll have plenty of time," Arnold started into the woods and turned to the girl, "Trust me."

The girl crossed her arms, "The town is not in those woods, Arnoldo."

"Just trust me, Helga. This path is the only way you'll be able to see the entire thing in what little time we have."

She huffed and followed Arnold's lead, who chuckled lightly. Once again, they made their course through the woods in silence. It did not bother Helga this time though ; she had discovered a new inconvenience. The trail the two were taking was elevated uphill quickly and the girl was having a tough time keeping up. The boy could hear her struggles.

Arnold turned to find Helga gripping the ground with her fingers. "Having troubles?" he asked slyly.

She answered through her teeth, "I…hate…hiking."

He smiled. "Don't worry. It's not too far."

Without asking and in an attempt to save time, Arnold hoisted Helga on his back and climbed the rest of the hill holding her legs close to him. Helga held his form to her chest in response. Within minutes, the trail leveled out again, yet Arnold still carried the blonde girl. She was about to ask how much further when he stopped in front of a rather large tree and placed her down. Helga looked at the trunk, which was similar to the other surrounding ones, and gave the boy a questioning look.

Arnold grabbed onto the branch right above him and heaved himself onto it. He peered down and asked Helga, "Can you climb?"

She huffed, seized the same branch, and gracefully swung to his side. "Of course. Race you to the top!" she winked before darting skyward.

The boy blinked rapidly, laughed to himself, and tried to catch up to the blonde girl, though not succeeding as well as he would have liked. Noticing that she was at least three branches above him, he called, "Do you have monkeynucleosis or something?"

Helga looked down at him and smirked, "If that was a real disease, then perhaps."

She waited for him to catch up to her and asked, "So what does your big plan for seeing the entire town have to do with this giant tree?"

Arnold kept climbing and moved past her, replying, "You'll see."

He broke through the tree top, which was in close proximity with the other ones and acted like a thick umbrella over the forest floor. He stood on a branch to where Helga could only see his feet. They turned around completely, and then a hand appeared. Arnold's voice could be heard. "Come up and close your eyes."

She took his hand and could feel the tug from Arnold as he lifted her to his level. "Okay," He instructed, "Now just hold on to the trunk and open your eyes."

Helga did as she was told and gasped. They were up very high, higher than she thought they had climbed; the tree they were on towered greatly over the others. Before them laid the town, small and simple, nestled nicely within the arms of a valley surrounded on all sides by woods. Past civilization, she could perceive tree covered hills with pathways carved into them. However, not even these spectacles made her reaction as it was; it was the sky. Clearer and more beautiful than it had ever been on the ground, colors of every hue it seemed shone across the horizon, starting darker and becoming lighter as they approached the setting sun.

Not wasting any time, Arnold began pointing out different buildings and shops in town. "That's Green Meats; don't worry none of the meats are green. Over there is Potts' Construction; Mr. Potts is one of our borders. There is The Post Office, and beside that is Mrs. Vitello's Flower Shop, which is where I work."

Helga soaked in every detail of the town in that she could as Arnold continued to talk; taking in every small side note the boy seemed to add.

"…and that's the town." He finished.

She scanned the collection of buildings for a moment then asked, "Where is your house?"

He pointed to a large house outside of the main part of town. Helga smiled in spite of herself and took a mental snapshot of the house.

"Helga," Arnold interrupted her thoughts, "I know you can take care of yourself."

She hadn't expected that. Turning around to face him while not realizing how close they were, she responded, "Yes, and?"

He cleared his throat, "Look, I know you're very independent and you don't like to accept help from anyone, but I want to be your friend. I'm not asking to be your Superman or anything; I'm just saying we can look out for each other. I could use some backup occasionally."

Helga shrugged with a grin, "I guess could get used to having you around."

He flashed her a brilliant smile, "I should probably get you home; it's getting dark.

As the two descended down the trunk and as Arnold carried the girl through the thick woods, Helga had no idea that on that particular night, she would have her first dream about Arnold.

---

The rest of the week proceeded much smoother than Tuesday had. Harold, Sid, and Stinky glared at Arnold along with Helga, but neither of them seemed to notice. They busied themselves by getting to know each other. The two would spend hours asking each other the most simple of questions.

"Okay," Arnold leaned against a locker near Helga's that Friday and asked, "If you were trapped on a deserted island, what three items would you bring, given that all of your needs were provided for?"

"That's easy," she shut her locker door, "A pen, paper, and a bottle."

"Can I ask why?"

"Well, you said all of my needs were met, which includes food, shelter, and entertainment. With all these factors to consider, I would want to get off the island eventually, but I don't think I would be in a hurry. So, I would simply write a note and put it in a bottle, setting it out to sea in hopes that someone will find it in time."

Arnold laughed, "You seemed to have that all figured out."

"You might say that." Helga retaliated as they descended the stairs in front of the school, for the school day was over.

Before Helga reached the bottom, however, her shoulder received three shoves, causing more irritation than pain, and when she heard the passing figures yell, "Watch it, Nazi!" she knew immediately where the pushes originated.

"You watch it, Pink Boy!" Helga raised her fist at Harold.

He, Sid, and Stinky approached them, carrying gloves, a bat, and a baseball. He smirked and said, "Not even you can ruin my day. We're about to go play the great _American_ past time."

"Yeah, I know all about it," Helga crossed her arms, "I am an _American_ after all."

Harold rolled his eyes while Sid and Stinky giggled behind him.

"In fact, isn't this the game you guys invited me to play in on Monday?"

The muscular boy narrowed his eyes, "As if you'd stand a chance."

"You want to find out?" Helga snarled.

---

A few minutes later, Helga and Arnold stood in line with the other senior boys, waiting to be picked for teams. Traditionally, the team captains were switched every week and on this Friday, the captains were Stinky and Eugene, a very small boy with red hair.

Stinky won the coin toss and picked first, "Sid."

Eugene looked around nervously and picked Harold who groaned and took his place beside Eugene. The selection process continued for the next few minutes and Harold found himself on the same team as Helga. Arnold gazed at them uncomfortably from the opposing team

---

Helga proved to be more of a baseball player than she had let on. Long story short, she ran circles around every boy there…sometimes literally.

Harold was shocked at how well she played. Helga could throw and hit farther than everyone else, and she even manage to catch balls that the others immediately called as home runs.

Near the end of the game, the Arnold's team was down by two, bases were loaded, and they already had two outs. Harold and Helga were both in the outfield and Stinky was at bat. A nervous tension broke amongst the field. The senior girls watched anxiously as Curly, a boy with slick black hair and glasses, hurled the ball from the pitcher's mound.

Stinky hit the ball confidently and it soared past the outfielders, over the treetops of the nearby woods. Helga made a dash for it, in hopes that she could catch it before it hit the ground, and Harold darted after her.

As Helga sprinted through the tree trunks, she saw the ball overhead and ran faster. It was coming in close and before she grasped the little white sphere from the air, a figure pushed her to the ground and claimed the ball as his own.

Helga looked up to find Harold laughing at her and tossing the baseball in his hands, "Not too fast now, are you Nazi?"

"I'm not a Nazi, Harold!" Helga got up and brushed the dirt off of her, "How many times do I have to keep telling you that?"

"It doesn't matter…I'll never believe you."

Helga sighed, "Harold, I am an American. I was born in Boston, Massachusetts on September the 8th , 1923. I have never been to Germany in my entire life and I have no ties to it whatsoever…"

"I don't believe you!" Harold backed away from her, "You're going to kill us all!"

"Harold…"

"I know what's going on over there," His eyes were fearful, "I have family over there…in Austria. They write to us and tell us what's happening over there."

"Harold…" Helga tried to reach out to him.

He flinched and backed away from her touch as if her hand was diseased, "Jewish people are losing their jobs and their businesses…and sometimes their homes. My younger cousins have to go to an all Jewish school and they are not allowed to communicate with their non-Jewish friends. Everyone has to walk around with those humiliating gold stars pinned to their shirts just so everybody else knows what they are."

Helga was silent.

"…and people are 'disappearing'," a tear escaped Harold's dark eye, "My aunt and uncle wrote to us about the camps that people are taken to. Some of their friends are already gone…"

It seemed that the woods themselves were silent for Harold.

He glared at Helga, "You won't take me…like you took them."

The ground behind the boy was not as stable as he anticipated and his next step backwards was almost his last. Before Harold could leave Helga alone in the woods, the earth beneath him caved in and he fell into a hole. Dust surrounded the air.

"Harold!" Helga screamed. When the dirt cleared, she saw the boy's stubby fingers clinging to the sides of the opening. His cries for help could be heard.

Helga grabbed onto his wrist and started to pull. Harold looked genuinely surprised, "Why are helping me? Isn't this what you want? I'll die if I fall."

"I don't want you to die!" Helga gritted her teeth as she tried to lift Harold, "I'm not a Nazi and I'm not out to get you! Now, if you don't help me, I won't be able to get you out of there!"

Harold eyes seemed to search Helga's for something, something he couldn't find. Deception? Betrayal? Whatever it was, Helga will never know because it didn't exist in her sapphire orbs. The boy started pumping his feet against the hole wall and with his added strength, Helga managed to heave him out of the gap.

The two rested on the soil for a few moments. Harold looked at Helga and said, "So, you're from Boston?"

Helga smiled, "Yes, I am."

---

Yay!

Harold doesn't think Helga's a Nazi anymore!

I'm glad because I really hated writing Harold, Stinky, and Sid as being that hateful.

Review!


	6. People Will Say We're in Love

**I have returned!**

**DUM DUM DUMMMM!**

**Okay…that was kind of lame, I'll admit.**

**But besides that, yes I have returned to continue this story!**

**Okay…first off, there is nothing I can say to express how sorry I am about making you guys wait so long.**

**Just don't hate me too much k? =)**

**All I can say is that between this post and the last post, I feel like I have really grown as a person:**

**I've become more "mature" I guess you could put it (responsible/organized?) psh...**

**I know what I'm going to be when I "grow up"...finally...and I'm going to my dream college next fall.**

**And I suppose most importantly, I found out more about myself and the person I want to strive to be.**

**But anyway, enough about me. **

**Continuing where we left off:**

**After Helga saved his life, Harold realized that she is not a blood thirsty Nazi, bent on bringing about his mortal demise, but is a young girl seeking acceptance from a new set of peers and is slowly and unawarely developing a strong attraction towards a certain football-headed young man.**

**So this chapter is kind of like the montage sequence of a movie except it won't play music in the background while you read it (Sorry). It will give a lot of little scenes that will allow necessary character development and such before we get to the next big thing in the plot.**

**Another thing, this chapter will cover a few months, but I'm not going to say which little scene goes with which month. Just keep in mind that all of this occurs between August, right where Chapter 5 left off, and around mid October of 1941.**

**Brace yourself.**

**P.S: Spell Check on my Microsoft Word is screwed up so there's going to be some misspelled words. I tried to find them all, but I might have missed some.**

**Chapter 6 is named after the song from the Broadway musical "Oklahoma" (1943) -"People Will Say We're in Love".**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hey Arnold, historical events, and Oklahoma (nethier the musical nor the state)**

Chapter 6: People Will Say We're in Love

_August – October 1941_

Helga barged through the front door of her two story house to find the residence empty except for her mother, who's light snores could be heard from the general direction of the couch in the living room. After peering inside and noticing the almost completely clean bottle of recently imported Red Burgundy cluched in Mariam's palm, Helga concluded that she had gotten up once during the day to retrieve that bottle and to disgard the Whiskey container that had cause her to pass out on the couch in the first place the night before. A few quiet moans escape the older woman's lips as she entered further and further into her subconscience. Helga shook her head and proceeded up the stairs.

Once in her room, the young girl tossed her books on the floor and dove into the soft comfort sea of her bed. She rubbed her temples in fustration at her sad excuse for a mother, then turned to lie on her back and stared out her single window. A giant oat tree cast a shadow across her yard and as the wind gently blew, the leaves from it lightly detached themselves from the branches, fluttering away with their warm colored brothers and sisters. One leaf, Helga noticed, stuck out from all of the rest; it had not changed colors for autumn and remained a deep and lush emerald.

Helga shut her eyes and started to drift.

"Your eyes burn into my soul," she spoke to herself as slipped away from reality, "Like two perfect emerald orbs."

"Cut without fault, matching the missing pieces of my heart where others have left scars." Before she fell into complete slumber, Helga thought of Arnold, his sweet smile…his beautiful green eyes, and instantly shot open.

She sat up and looked around the room for anyone who might have heard her,_ "What was that? A poem? About Arnold?"_

Helga never had really put much effort into creative writing, let only poetry. It wasn't really something her father "promoted" for her to spend her time on. Thinking back on her previous school work, she did not really think she did anything this…well, poetic.

She jumped off the bed and scrambled to find a pen and paper. Before she could forget a single word, she wrote it down on the first thing she found: a napkin.

_Your eyes burn into my soul_

_Like two perfect emerald orbs_

_Cut without fault_

_Matching the missing pieces_

_Of my heart_

_Where others have left scars_

Helga looked down at the napkin and rubbed her finger over the freshly dried ink.

"Oh Arnold!" She whispered,"I know I've only known you for a short time, but I feel as though we have been in each others company for a lifetime! Oh how I love being near you, sensing your presence next to mine as we go about our school activities. Oh how I love the gleam in your eyes that do resemble a pair of shining emeralds and your smile when it's directed at me sending pleasant sensations to my heart because I know that I caused that smile. Yes…your exqusite smile that with one glance makes me see that there is goodness in this world. I would swim the vasted oceans and climb the highest moutains just to see your beaming features Arnold…my bright angel."

Helga paused for a minute. "Hey! That's not bad!" She continued to scribble on the napkin.

"Ok that's it for the day, class," Mr. Harvey closed his book lightly and placed it on his desk, "Don't forget to work on your short stories this weekend. They're due on Monday."

Gerald quickly finshed writing his notes on his assignment as Mr. Harvey's baritone voice rang through the one room school house. He put his inch long pencil in his pocket as Nadine stood up from the table they shared. She had their joint English textbook, old and tatterned in more places than one, in her arms, "Gerald, are you going to need the textbook this weekend for your short story assignment?"

"No, I've taken some good notes so you go on ahead and take it," he positioned his scribbled covered loose leaf paper in a Math book, which was in similar condition to the English one, "But I'm going to take the Math one home, if that's alright with you."

She gave him a questioning look, "That's fine, but why? We don't have homework for it."

He began to walk outside, "There's a chapter near the back that talks about calculating interest and investments and I really wanted to take some notes on it."

"That's right!" Nadine gave him a knowing smile, "You're going to be a business man."

"Yes, I am," Gerald puffed out his chest a little.

She laughed, "I'll see you at church Sunday."

"Okay, see you then," He waved as she turned in the direction of her house.

Gerald made his way home. The black community consisted of two school houses, one was elementary and the other high school, one Baptist church, and several small shacks-like houses. It was separated from the main part of Hillwood by the railroad tracks, where many of the men worked on separate shifts from their white counterparts. The Hillwood Railroad Company employed about 75% of the men in the area, who did various jobs like fixing the tracks and trains, loadng and unloadng the cars, and getting rid of the occasional bum. Gerald's father worked for the Company as one of the only black shift leaders.

He saw his mother working in the garden out front when his tiny house came into view. She wiped the sweat off her brow and beamed at his arrival, "Well there's my big strong son."

She hugged him tightly, "How was school?"

He shrugged with a casual grin, "Interesting as usual."

His mother smiled at her son's genuine concern for his education, "My tomatoes are coming in nicely this year. Some are ready to be plucked. Would you like some sliced tomatoes tonight?"

"Only if you bake some of your good bread," He winked at her.

Her smile faded, "I'm out of flour."

"I'll go get some."

"You'd have to go into town, though, to get it."

"Its fine," he placed his books at his feet, "Will you take those in when you go inside?"

"Yes, but Gerald I know you don't like going into town."

"I'll be okay," he said reassuringly, "Besides, thinking about your homemade bread is making me go insane, Momma"

A few moments later scaled the ralroad tracks and entered into the Hillwood Main Street, spotting the drug store immediately. According to his usual custom, he wandered to the rear of the store and tapped a few times on the back door. A tall man with black hair and thin eyes opened the door and smiled at the boy in front of him. "Gerald! How are you my boy?"

"I'm great, Mr. Heyerdahl, just got out of school," he noticed the older man's approving look, "I was wondering if I could buy some flour from you."

"Is your momma making bread tonight?"

"Yes, sir."

"Be right back," he said and dissapeared into the store.

Gerald stood at the door casually like always, not really looking at anything. He always came to the back door whenever he needed something from the store. Mr. Heyerdahl and his family came to town and opened up his drugstore around the same time the store next to Gerald's house had closed down. During the first year of business, the blacks came to his store, entering throught the front and brousing like everyone else, but after Mr. Heyerdahl started getting complaints and someone threw a brick through the store window with an abseen and threatening note tied to it, they figured it was best to not provoke it any longer. Mr. Heyerdahl didn't care how much he was threatened and didn't want anyone telling him how to run his store, but he settled down once his banished customers came back through the back door, though anyone could still see the regret in his dark eyes.

Gerald had always pondered why the Heyerdahls were accepted among the whites; Mr. Heyerdahl was Japanese and therefore not white. However, Japanese people did almost look white; at least in photographs. It was such a confusing matter. It did help that he had married a white woman from Kentucky, which made their daughter half-white.

The Heyerdahl daughter was another confusing matter; out of the many times he came to the store, he had never met her, not even seen her. From what Mr. Heyerdahl had casually said about her, Gerald only knew that she was very smart and accelded in school. Now that he thought about it, he couldn't even remember her name.

"Here you are, Gerald," Mr. Heyerdahl returned to the door and placed the large flour sack in the young boy's hands.

Gerald shifted his weight, "How much to I owe you?"

The older man smiled, "It's on the house."

"Sir, I have money."

"Just bring me some of your momma's bread tomorrow and we'll be even."

"Yes, Sir."

"You want some cookies? Phoebe just pulled them out of the oven."

"Um…well I really need to be getting back home."

"It'll just take a second," he turned towards the inside of the store, "Phoebe! Can you bring me a few of those cookies, please? I've got a special order for them. And can you wrap them up nice?"

A few seconds later, small dark haired girl in a blue dress and a white apron appeared at the door. She was carrying a small stack of cookies wrapped in tan cloth and tied at the top with a blue ribbon, similar to the one in her hair.

"There you are, Phoebe! This is Gerald mother bakes that good bread you like and…" He stopped for a second, "Sounds like another customer at the counter. Be right back!"

Little did the elder Heyerdahl know that at that very moment neither his daughter nor the boy in front of her were hearing any of the words he was saying as they became enterlocked into an ulternate reality with the only inhabitants being themselves. He walked into the store, leaving the two in silence as their destinies began to take shape right before their very eyes.

Helga mumbled as she walked home, carrying two rather large sacks of groceries, "Why is it that even though Mariam is home all day, everyday, she can never seem to find the time to go get groceries?"

Two oranges were near to the brink of falling out of one of the sacks, so Helga was forced to adjust her arms, "Crimedy! And why is it that everytime we run out of food, she's always passed out or 'too tired'. Psh…too tired? Hung-over's more like it."

Mrs. Vitello's Flower Shop was up ahead on the right. Helga needed some cheering up and there was a certain boy with cornflower hair whom Helga was postive could lighten her mood.

Arnold wasn't standing at the counter located at the center of the store, but was amongst the flowers that surrounded the perimeter of the room. He was trimming a few branches from a rose bush when Helga walked in. He turned and noticed Helga with her groceries and helped her place them on the counter. "Planning a banquet?" he joked.

"No," Helga rolled her eyes, "Nice apron."

"Thanks, it's my uniform." Arnold tried to look proud in his tanned apron, embroidered with cursive font and very feminine floral prints.

"Yes, women love a man in uniform, Football-Head."

"Football-Head?" Arnold had never been called that before.

"Well, your head does resemble a football," Helga stated.

"I suppose…"

"Oh, lighten up," Helga touched his shoulder, while silently swooning to herself, "It's not a bad name. I give everyone off-the-wall nicknames. Rhonda is Princess, Harold is Pink Boy, Phoebe is Pheebs…well, her's isn't really off-the-wall, but you know what I mean."

"Yeah, I see," he smiled at her, "So, what do I called you then?"

She thought for a moment, "Helga G. Pataki…future president."

Arnold's eyes wondered around the store before he headed toward his enchanted garden. Coming back after only a few short moments, he placed a red and yellow rose in Helga's hand and said, "For your desk in the Oval Office, Miss President."

She chuckled, "Thank you, good citizen. Might I ask why you chose this particular blossom?"

"Flowers have different meanings," Arnold explained, "I gave you that one as a token of congratulations on your future accomplishment."

"How thoughtful of you. And what about the other roses? What do they mean?"

He lead Helga towards a corner containing numerous rose bushes, all different colored, "Some of them have only one meaning like the pale rose which means friendship and the yellow/orange meaning passionate thoughts. Others, however, can have multiple meanings the white that stands for charm, innocence, humility and silence and the classic red which represents respect, courage, desire and of course love."

Helga looked around and noticed some familiar flowers, "What about the dandelion?"

Arnold sighted what she was referring to, "Faithfulness and happiness."

"The daisy?"

"Gentleness, innocence, and loyal love."

Helga arched an eyebrow,"Do ALL flowers represent love in some way or fashion?"

"No," Arnold smirked, "the first one I showed you didn't"

"Besides that one, they all seem to deal with love."

"Do you have something against love?"

Helga scowled, "Of course not!"

Arnold pulled a weed out of a nearby green patch, "Most people send flowers to others in order to express love towards them, and because there are so many different types of love, there needed to be a flower or two that covered each."

Helga wanted to change the subject and fast. She saw a flower near her that she had never seen before. She asked, "What is that?"

"It's a gardenia. This particular species is known as the Gardenia Jasminoides; it orginates from Southern China and Japan. Mrs. Vitello at one time used to get many of these because she thought they were so beautiful," Arnold caressed the flowers pure, white pedal, "but ever since the War started over there, we've been gettng less every year. It's a shame; they're one of my favorites."

Helga lowered her face towards the bloom and inhaled, smelling a strong, but sweet scent, "This is definitely my favorite thus far; I can see why you like it so much. What is its meaning?"

Arnold did not answer as fast as he did with the other flower meanings. After seeing his facial expressions, Helga sensed that Arnold knew the answer, but was hesitant to respond. Finally he said quietly, "It means 'I love you in secret'."

"Hey Arnold!"

The foot-ball headed boy looked up from his desk to find Stinky in front of him. They were alone in Mr. Simmons room.

"Arnold, I need to talk to you." Stinky sat in the chair in front of him.

"Okay," Arnold closed his book.

Stinky seemed nervous from what Arnold observed. The taller boy shook slightly and tugged at his collar often during his monologue, "Now, Arnold, I know that you're not the type of feller to get angry about the little things, but it's a big thing to me. I know that us boys have codes that we're not allowed to break out of respect for one another…"

"What is it, Stinky?" Arnold questioned hassently.

After swallowing a nervous gulp, Stinky replied, "I want to ask Miss Lila to be my gal."

Arnold blinked twice, "That's it? That's what you're sweating over?"

"Arnold, I like Miss Lila," Stinky stood from his seat, "I really do. I know you two were a pair last year and you were holding a torch for her for some years before that, but I don't care! I'm going to ask her to the football game Friday and there's nothing you can say to change my mind!"

"Stinky," Arnold stood as well, "If you like her, then you should ask her."

The taller boy blinked, "You're not mad?"

"Of course not," he smiled, "I used to be crazy about Lila, but that was a while back; we've both moved on. Look, I'm your friend and if being with Lila makes you happy, then I'm happy too."

"Honest?"

Arnold smiled, "Honest."

Later on, he noticed that his friend hadn't wasted any time whenever he saw Stinky and Lila strolling out of school together, hand in hand.

Gerald stood once again at the back door of the Heyerdahl drugstore, clutching a loaf of his mother's homemade bread in his hands. He had been there for about twenty minutes, almost knocking on the hard wooden door, but chickening out at the thought of it being answered by _her_. Never one to be intiminated by anyone, this feeling caused him to shake.

"Come on, Gerald," He spoke out loud, "She probably won't answer the door. She's probably not even here…the store won't open for another thirty minutes. Mr. Heyerdahl is the only one to ever open the store. Yeah…yeah…she won't be here yet. I don't know what I was thinking."

But just as he reached to knock on the door, it was opened by the very person that had been flooding his thoughts for the past twelve hours: Miss Phoebe Heyerdahl. She stood in the frame as if waiting for him to speak and when he did not, she said, "I though I heard someone out here. You're Gerald, right?"

"Um…yeah," he coughed, turning his gaze from the dirt below to her, "I brought this bread…my mother's homemade bread…for you, or for your family."

Gerald handed it to her and she smiled, "Thank you very much."

He rubbed the back of his neck, "Well, I should be going. I've got a lot of chores to do."

"Of course," Phoebe nodded, "Thank you again for the bread."

"It was no problem. Goodbye, Miss Heyerdahl," he turned to leave, but was stopped when a small soft hand grabbed his wrist.

"Called me Phoebe," she whispered.

He flashed her a smile, "As you wish, Phoebe."

**So, this answers some of your questions about Gerald and Phoebe meeting.**

**I had actually planned on having this chapter being joined with the next one, but I couldn't make you guys wait any longer. So, the next one will be written in this montage style, except it will be much darker while this was light hearted. Also it will cover October to December 1941.**

**Again guys, sorry for the wait and the misspelled words.**

**REVIEW!**


	7. Emergency Author's Note!

Author's Note:

We have a dilemma.

My laptop is broke.

Not good.

And to make matters worse…half of the next chapter is on it, saved to my documents.

Really not good.

…

So until it's fixed (it's at the doctor as we speak…or as you read), I can't upload the next chapter.

However, I'm almost done with the second half; I've been writing it in a notebook.

If it comes to the point to where it's taking forever or somehow my documents are erased, I'll just try to remember what I can from the document and upload.

So don't worry, the story will continue…just at a slower pace than I would like.

I hate delays. =(

Sorry everybody…

…

By the way, I'm only able to upload this because I'm on a school computer. This one nor the desktop at home have the chapter saved to it.

Boo…

After I get my laptop back, I'm saving my chapter to a flash drive or something.

Later guys! Sorry again for the delay.

Bye!


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